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Grieving David Ellison Misses Senate Hearing, Attends CinemaCon 2026

Let it never be said that we are in any kind of position whatsoever to judge people on how they grieve, how long they choose to grieve, and how they choose to express that grief. That doesn't mean we don't sometimes have some very strong opinions – especially when certain things go down that leave your eyebrows in a permanent state of arched "What the f**k?" In case you hadn't heard, there are a growing number of folks across the pop culture and political landscape who aren't big fans of the $111 billion Paramount Skydance/Warner Bros. Discovery deal. How will it impact the entertainment industry? How large will the job cuts be? Why is there so much Middle East funding now in the mix? Legitimate questions that Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison should have to answer – and he was given an opportunity to do just that. Image: CinemaCon; CBS Entertainment; David Ellison/Bloomberg Sen. Cory Booker, the top Democrat on the Senate antitrust subcommittee, opened a special hearing into the deal, pushing for Ellison to appear so he could respond to the questions and concerns still swirling around. Unfortunately, Ellison was unable to appear due to "attending a funeral due to a death in the family," as Paramount policy executive Ted Lehman wrote in response to Sen. Booker's request. At this point, we can only assume that the "me-time" Ellison took on Wednesday was more than enough to recharge his batteries because he made a reported surprise appearance during CinemaCon. Because nothing – not grieving or appearing before the U.S. Senate for the good of the people – takes precedent over stroking the fragile egos of major theater chain owners that they're going to get their 45-day theatrical window. "We've been through a lot together over the past twenty years. At the beginning of my career, we partnered together on 'Flyboys,' and I delivered to you what Variety called one of the biggest bombs of 2006. Sorry about that," Ellison joked at one point during his remarks. And yet, somewhere in those words, you can tell there's sadness… right? Right?